As a founder member of Mystery Women in 1997, promoting Crime Fiction has always been my passion.
Following the closure of Mystery Women, a new group was formed on 30th January 2012 promoting crime fiction.
New reviews are posted daily, but to search for earlier reviews please click on the Mystery People link below and select 'reviews' from the welcome page. This will display an alphabetic option for you to find the review you would like to read

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Saturday, 31 January 2015

Linda
Fairstein is noted for the meticulous research she does for each of her
mysteries which take place in a different New York City landmark. And she
outdoes herself in this novel which revolves around the century-old Grand
Central Terminal, both above and below ground, well along the tracks
north. In fact, it is so chock full of little- or even unknown facts that
it boggles the mind. Who knew, for instance, that there is an elevator
connecting the below surface area to the other landmark known as the
Waldorf-Astoria? Or that the elevator was large enough to carry the
polio-crippled FDR and his automobile from the tracks below up to street level
and to allow him to enter the lobby?

The plot begins with the discovery of a woman, nude, raped and with her throat
cut from ear to ear, in a suite in the Waldorf Tower. Two additional
murders occur, one a man who lives in the underground byways along the tracks
and another woman, murdered in the same manner as the first, found in a private
railroad car parked along the tracks. The crimes seem to be associated
with Grand Central Station, and complicating the situation is the expected
arrival of the President in a few days by rail.

Obviously, the denouement takes
place in the terminal, but not until Mike Chapman and Alex Cooper pick up where
they left off at the end of the previous book in the series (after a
slight detour). As in previous installments, the plot is tight, writing
succinct, and characterization and dialogue superb. Obviously, the novel
is recommended.

------Reviewer: Ted Feit

Linda Fairsteinis an American
author and former prosecutor focusing on crimes of violence against women and
children. She was born 5 May 1947 in New York. She was
educated at Vassar College, University of Virginia School of Law. She has
written 15 books featuring Alex Cooper-NY District Attorney, and Detective
Mike Chapman.

http://www.lindafairstein.com

Ted and Gloria Feit live in Long Beach, NY, a few miles
outside New York City. For 26 years, Gloria was the manager of a
medium-sized litigation firm in lower Manhattan. Her husband, Ted, is an
attorney and former stock analyst, publicist and writer/editor for, over the
years, several daily, weekly and monthly publications. Having always been
avid mystery readers, and since they're now retired, they're able to indulge
that passion. Their reviews appear online as well as in three print
publications in the UK and US. On a more personal note: both having been
widowed, Gloria and Ted have five children and nine grandchildren between them.

Thursday, 29 January 2015

When the dead body of a man is
discovered in a hotel in Tradmouth, DI Wesley Peterson is called to
investigate. Initially, the case looks a routine matter but identifying the
corpse proves elusive.

Wesley’s
boss, DCI Gerry Heffernan is now back on
duty after being shot on a previous case and is still not quite up to full
strength.His confidence is further
undermined by being presented with a number of cold cases by his boss, Chief
Superintendent Noreen Fitton (Aunty Noreen). As Gerry remarks to Wesley, when
you are given ‘cold cases’ it’s because they think that you can’t cut it with a
‘hot’ one.

Even
as Wesley begins to make progress with his enquires, a second murder occurs leading
to yet another suspicious death.

While
Wesley is pursuing his case, his old university friend Neil Watson of the
County Archaeological unit is acting as a visiting expert on a proposed TV series called ‘Ultra Dig’.The first site chosen, is the lost village of
Sandrock, which was swept way during storms in February 1918. Although frustrated at the time wasted in
hanging about while the director sets the scene Neil is delighted to meet the
leader of the dig Lucy Zinara whom he has only previously known by reputation.

Running
alongside the current investigation is the narrative of Martha, a servant girl,
who in July 1913 finds herself pregnant by the young master of the house.Both stories are equally fascinating, and
hold the reader enthralled as both situations progress, sadly proving that
human nature doesn’t change for the better.

Whilst
Wesley’s investigation becomes more complicated, as more motives and more
suspects emerge, Martha’s situation will have long tentacles that will reach
forward down years to her descendants.

This
19th book in the series is as good if not better than the forgoing
ones.The only unchanged elements being
Pam Peterson remaining unhappy with her lot as Wesley seems always to be
working.Why did she marry a policeman
then? DS Rachel Tracey, who although now engaged to Nigel continues to hanker
after Wesley, and Neil – well maybe things could be looking up for Neil, or are
they?

Brilliantly
plotted.Most highly recommended

-----

Reviewer: Lizzie
Hayes

Kate Ellis
was born in Liverpool and studied drama in Manchester. She is interested in
archaeology and lives in North Cheshire.Kate has twice been nominated for the Crime Writers' Association Short
Story Dagger and has also been nominated for the Theakstons Old Peculier Crime
Novel of the Year.

Mari Hannah was born in London, She now lives in a small Northumberland
village with her partner, a former murder detective.
Mari became a writer after her career as a Probation Officer was cut short following an assault on duty. She began using a computer because it was too painful to write with a pen. Ironically, the idea that she might one day become a writer then began to form in her head. She tried different forms of writing before settling on prose, and spent several years scriptwriting. She thenturned her attention to the BBC, pitching a television serial based on characters in her then unfinished debut crime novel The Murder Wall. After completing the TV script, she went back to the book she had started years before but somehow never thought she’d finish.

What is it about certain locations that attract the attention of crime writers?‘Tartan noir’ is rapidly becoming a sub-genre. London, of course, has the endless complications of the Met.And now the North East is proving fertile ground, and has produced its own intriguing crop of sleuths.Mari Hannah is one, and after four books in her award-winning series featuring maverick DCI Kate Daniels, she already has a substantial following. What is it about the North East, I asked her? The varied Northumberland landscape plays a large part in the novels, as do the less salubrious parts of towns in the North East. Does she spend a lot of time researching locations?

Mari:Yes, and it’s essential. Without it the books would lack authenticity. I once heard a writer talk about taking a stroogle (a stroll around Google) for research. But writing police procedurals requires knowledge of vehicular access, footfall, demographic detail and that type of thing. If a crime scene is discovered at night, I need to know how it feels in the dark and you can’t get that from the Internet.

Lynne:Likewise the police procedural aspects: it must help to have a former murder detective on tap, as it were, but how do you go about keeping your knowledge up to date?

Mari:I meet regularly with serving and retired police officers but I like to concentrate on how Kate’s detective mind works, rather than scientific and technological developments or how police procedure has changed over the years. Yes, it’s worth knowing that Scenes Of Crime Officers have become Crime Scene Investigators in her stamping ground, but it’s more important, and more interesting to readers, that I explore how detectives operate, how to ask the right questions, which people to ask, how they go about their daily routines and the methods they employ to collect intelligence.

Lynne:Scriptwriting played a large part in your early writing career. How does that impact on writing prose fiction? Were there useful lessons to be learned from writing scripts which you feel have made you a better novelist?

Mari:It has had a huge influence on my novel writing. My debut was written for the screen as part of a BBC drama development scheme. When it wasn’t commissioned, I adapted it. The screenwriting process was simple: from idea to premise, short synopsis to treatment with the story beats in place before embarking on a project. That didn’t change when I switched to prose. Writing for the screen – big or small – makes you think visually. It cuts out all the extraneous stuff and keeps the pace up. Screenwriting teaches you to write good dialogue that is clipped and tight. Now my books are out there, people tell me it’s not hard to imagine them on screen. That’s good to know as Sprout Pictures – a company owned by Gina Carter and Stephen Fry – have just picked up the TV rights.

Lynne:Your work is firmly based in the 21st century, but there are quite a few successful authors of
historical crime. Have you ever considered taking a trip into history? Or in any direction which doesn’t involve Kate Daniels and her supporting cast?

Mari:There are certain periods in recent history that I believe are underrepresented in crime fiction. I may well have a go in the future but at the moment I have my work cut out writing contemporary fiction with Kate Daniels at its heart. However, I’m in possession of a letter that has always fascinated me. I’d love to build a book around it.

Lynne:They say writers are born, not made, but you set off down a quite different career path. What brought you to writing in general and fiction in particular? Was it always in your blood?Mari:Not really, although I used to amuse myself writing as a child. There must have been something in the
water in the eighties and nineties because there was a big explosion of new and exciting crime writers. Someone gave me Michael Connelly’s debut TheBlack Echo shortly after it was published. I loved it and was hooked. That sent me off on a hunt for other crime writers: Ian Rankin, Patricia Cornwell, Val McDermid. So I was a reader first. When an assault on duty ended my career in the Probation Service, I began to amuse myself making stuff up. I caught the bug. Now I can’t imagine doing anything else.

Lynne:You’ve won several awards for your novels, and places on the BBC’s drama development schemes aren’t easy to achieve. How does that kind of success compare with simply selling lots and lots of books?

Mari: Most writers don’t earn a living wage. So if I was doing it for the money I might try something else. Every writer wants to be widely read, of course, but when you get an award it is validation for all your hard work. That really matters to me.

Lynne:At least two novels a year is a substantial work rate by any standards. Many aspiring writers would want to know how you fit it all in.

Mari:I don’t write two novels a year. The truth is, I’d written the first three in the Kate Daniels series before I found a publisher. When Pan Macmillan offered me a three-book deal they decided to bring out a book every six months. The strategy worked. I’ve built up a following quickly and my readers haven’t had to wait long to get their hands on the next instalment.

Lynne:Your first novel was a long time coming – it spent a lot of time side-lined while you did other things. How did it feel to hold the advance copy in your hands?

Mari:The Murder Wall is the only book of mine that’s had a proof copy. That makes it very special. I pick it up occasionally to remind myself of the years I spent waiting for this wonderful thing to happen. It felt amazing holding it for the first time. Dream come true may be a cliché but it describes my feelings exactly. Although I’d been writing for many years I could finally call myself a professional writer.

Lynne:Do you have a regular writing routine? Take us through a typical day while you’re in mid-novel.

Mari:I’m actually mid-novel now and doing nothing to progress it. With Killing for Keeps just out I’ve had to stop writing to promote it with the signings, radio interviews and appearances. I’m also taking part in the Northern Writers’ Awards/Channel 4 Roadshow. I was lucky enough to win an award in 2010 and this is my way of giving something back. In January and February I’ll be going into hibernation to finish my work in progress and meet a looming deadline. A typical day means I sit at my desk and write. If I’m on a roll, I don’t take enough breaks and end up with an aching neck.

Lynne:How does a new book start in your mind? Do you know whodunit before you start writing? Or do you plunge in and wait to see how things pan out?

Mari:I’m a planner. I could never write blind as some authors do. As I said above, I write a synopsis with all the story beats and I know the ending before I begin. Ideas come from everywhere: things I see, conversations I overhear and items in the newspapers or on TV. Writers are magpies, aren’t they? I also have an ideas box so big it will last until they carry me out in mine.

Lynne:It can’t be easy to keep a series fresh and new. What steps do you take to ensure each Kate Daniels book is different from the others?

Mari:The geographical area Kate works in is vast and contrasting. Northumbria is oneof the largest police
forces in the country. I set books in the wilderness, in the inner city,or a combination of the two. These locations give the novels a different feel. I also play around with the kind of book I write. Sometimes I feature one case, sometimes multiples incidents merging together. The majority of my readers seem to like that. I wouldn’t be
doing them justice if I wrote the same book over and over. I also have to keep an eye onthe story arc of my
characters, how they are changing and shifting through the series.

Lynne:Who do you think is your typical reader?

Mari:I don’t believe there is such a thing. I haven’t noticed one group in particular emerging. What I do know is they appreciate the time I spend with them face-to-face at events or virtually on social media. Readers put me on the Dagger in the Library longlist this year. Librarians and previous winners voted me on to the shortlist. These are all people who know their crime fiction and I’m grateful to every one of them.

The fifth and latest in the Kate Daniels series is Killing for Keeps. The series begins with The Murder Wall, and continues with Settled Blood, Deadly Deceit and Monument to Murder.

Lynne Patrick has been a writer ever since she could pick up a pen, and has enjoyed success with short stories, reviews and feature journalism, but never, alas, with a novel. She crossed to the dark side to become a publisher for a few years, and is proud to have launched several careers which are now burgeoning. She lives on the edge of rural Derbyshire in a house groaning with books, about half of them crime fiction.

Following the disappearance of her beloved husband Dan, Olivia Brookes
has now married Robert who entered her life as she was coping with the loss of
Dan, and then stood by her when a second tragedy occurred. Now she is calling
the police to report her husband Robert and three children have disappeared.

The first six chapters of the book take us through
Olivia’s panic and fear as the hours pass, and she knows that she has reason to
think the worst, as she knows what Robert is capable of, but cannot share these
fears with the police. As the investing officer’s conduct a routine search of
the house for any clues as to where the children could be, they discover that
some of the children’s clothes are missing.But Olivia insists that Robert just took the children out for pizza.However, Inspector Tom Douglas recalls an
earlier call when the young Olivia reported the disappearance of her first husband
Dan, and wonders.

Two years later, Tom Douglas now a Chief Inspector is
called by his boss Chief Superintendent Philippa Stanley who tells Tom that
they have a missing-from-home case.But
this time it is Olivia who has disappeared, and with her are the three
children.A report from the PC who went
to check it out says it’s an odd situation, as her car is in the garage, and
her purse is in her handbag – on the kitchen table. The police want to issue an
appeal, but every single picture of this family has been removed from photo
albums, phones, and computers.

The subsequent interviews with Robert and the evidence
they find are all conflicting.In fact
they cannot even establish when she was last seen. Then the forensic team find blood, and it turns
into a murder hunt.

In the early chapters it quickly becomes apparent that
Robert is utterly obsessed with Olivia.So when Robert reports Olivia missing we are two years further on, and
as the police investigate, slowly the last two years unfold revealing the
frightening intensity of Robert’s obsession with Olivia.

The story is complex and has many
twists, which makes compelling reading. I could not put this book down - heart
in mouth as the tension mounts, and we reach the dramatic conclusion.Highly recommended.------Reviewer: Lizzie Hayes

Rachel Abbott,whose real name is Sheila Rodgers, was born just
outside Manchester. She spent most of her working life as the Managing
Director of an interactive media company, developing software and websites for
the education market. The sale of that business enabled her to take early
retirement and fulfil one of her lifelong ambitions - to buy and restore a
property in Italy. .She bought a ruined
monastery with its own chapel in Italy, and completely restored it, in the
process starting a very successful business renting it out for weddings and
conferences. She lived in Italy for some years before relocating to
Alderney. In 2010 she fulfilled her ambition to write a novel with Only the
Innocent and thus began her third successful career. She is a successful
self-published author of crime novels, with a strong women’s slant. Her
first novel, Only The Innocent, went to no 1 in e-book format on
Amazon. She has published three novels so far: Only The Innocent, The
Back Road and Sleep Tight. The fourth, Stranger Child, comes
out in e-book at the end of February.

About Me

From an early age I have been a lover of crime fiction. Discovering like minded people at my first crime conference at St Hilda’s Oxford in 1997, I was delighted when asked to join a new group for the promotion of female crime writers. In 1998 I took over the running of the group, which I did for the next thirteen years.
During that time I organised countless events promoting crime writers and in particular new writers. But apart from the sheer joy of reading, ‘I actually love books, not just the writing, the plot or the characters, but the sheer joy of holding a book has never abated for me. The greatest gift of my life has been the ability to read'.